"Amazon said a technical error on its website exposed the names and email addresses of some customers. The online retail giant its website and systems weren't hacked. "We have fixed the issue and informed customers who may have been impacted," said an Amazon spokesperson. An Amazon spokesman didn't answer additional questions, like how many people were affected or whether any of the information was stolen."

Hello, We’re contacting you to let you know that our website inadvertently disclosed your name and email address due to a technical error. The issue has been fixed. This is not a result of anything you have done, and there is no need for you to change your password or take any other action.

Sincerely, Customer Service http://Amazon.com"

What? That's all? No link to a site or to a page for customers with questions?

This incident is a reminder that several things can cause data breaches. It's not only when cyber-criminals break into an organization's computers or systems. Human error causes data breaches, too. In some breaches, employees collude with criminals. In some cases, sloppy data security by outsource vendors causes data breaches. Details matter.

Typically, organizations affected by data breaches hire external security agencies to conduct independent, post-breach investigations to learn important details: when the breach started, how exactly the breach happened, the list of data elements unauthorized users accessed/stole, what else may have happened that wasn't readily apparent when the incident was discovered, and key causal events leading up to the breach -- all so that a complete fix can be implemented, and so that it doesn't happen again.

Who made the "technical error?" Who discovered it? What caused it? How long did the error exist? Who fixed it? Were specialized skills or tools necessary? What changes were made so that it won't happen again? Amazon isn't saying. If management decided to skip a post-breach investigation, consumers deserve to know that and why, too.

Often, the breach starts long before it is discovered by the company, or by a security researcher. Often, the fix includes several improvements: software changes, employee training, and/or improved security processes with contractors.

So, all we know is that names and email addresses were accessed by unauthorized persons. If stolen, that is sufficient to do damage -- spam or phishing email messages, to trick victims into revealing sensitive personal (e.g., usernames, passwords, etc.) and payment (e.g., bank account numbers, credit card numbers, etc.) information. It is not too much to ask Amazon to share both breach details and the results of a post-breach investigation.

Executives at Amazon know all of this, so maybe it was a management decision not to share breach details nor a post-breach investigation -- perhaps, not wanting to risk huge Black Friday holiday sales. Then again, the lack of details could imply the breach was far worse than management wants to admit.

Either way, this is troublesome. It's all about trust. When details are shared, consumers can judge the severity of the breach, the completeness of the company's post-breach response, and ideally feel better about continuing to shop at the site. What do you think?

64 percent agreed (e.g., Strongly Agree, Agree) with the statement: "I'm concerned about how companies will use artificial intelligence and the information they have about me to engage with me"

"Six out of 10 Americans agree or strongly agree that AI will never be as good as human interaction. Human interaction remains sacred and there is concern with at least a third of consumers that AI won’t stay focused on mundane tasks and leave the real thinking to humans."

Many of the concerns center around control. As AI applications become smarter and more powerful, they are able to operate independently, without human -- users' -- authorization. When presented with several smart-refrigerator scenarios, the less control users had over purchases the fewer survey participants viewed AI as a benefit:

AI technologies can also be used to find and present possible matches for online dating services. Again, survey participants expressed similar control concerns:

Earlier this month, my wife and I relocated to a different city within the same state to live closer to our new, 14-month young grandson. During the move, we bought new home appliances -- a clothes washer and dryer, both made by Whirlpool -- which prompted today's blog post.

The packaging and operation instructions included two registration postcards with the model and serial numbers printed in the form. Nothing controversial about that. The registration cards included, "Other Easy Ways To Register," and listed both registration websites for the United States and Canada. I tried the online registration to see what improvements or benefits Whirlpool's United States registration site might offer over the old-school snail-mail method besides speed.

The landing page includes a form for the customer's contact information, product purchased information, and future purchase plans. Pretty standard stuff. Nothing alarming there. Near the bottom of the form and just above the "Complete Registration" button are links to Whirlpool's Terms & Conditions and Privacy policies. I read both and found some surprises.

First, the site uses inconsistent nomenclature: two different policy titles. The link says "Terms & Conditions" while the title of the actual policy page states, "Terms Of Use." Which is it? Inconsistent nomenclature can confuse users. Not good. Come on, Whirlpool! This is not hard. Good website usability includes the consistent use of the same page title, so uses know where they are going when they select a link, and that they've arrived at the expected destination.

Second, the Terms Of Use (well, I had to pick a title so it wold be clear for you) policy page lacks a date. This can be confusing, making it difficult to impossible for consumers to know and reference the exact document read; plus determine what, if any, changes were posted since the prior version. Not good. Come on Whirlpool! Add a publication date. It's not hard.

"Whirlpool Corporation welcomes your submissions; however, any information submitted, other than your personal information (for example, your name and e-mail address), to Whirlpool Corporation through this site is the exclusive property of Whirlpool Corporation and is considered NOT to be confidential. Whirlpool Corporation does not receive the submission in confidence or under any confidential or fiduciary relationship. Whirlpool Corporation may use the submission for any purpose without restriction or compensation."

So, the Terms of Use policy is both vague and clear at the same time. It was vague because it didn't list the exact data elements considered "personal information." Not good. This leaves consumers to guess. The policy lists only two data elements. What about the rest? Are all confidential, or only some? And if some, which ones? Here's the list I consider confidential: name, street address, country, phone number, e-mail address, IP address, device type, device model, device operating system, payment card information, billing address, and online credentials (should I create a profile at the Whirlpool site). Come on Whirlpool! Get it together and provide the complete list of data elements you consider "personal information." It's not hard.

Fourth, the Terms Of Use policy was also clear because the above sentences quoted made Whirlpool's intentions clear: submissions to the site other than "personal information" are not confidential and Whirlpool can do with them whatever it wants. Since the policy doesn't list which data elements are personal, one must assume all are. Not good.

Next, I read Whirlpool's Privacy policy, and hoped that it would clarify things. Thankfully, a little good news. First, the Privacy policy listed a date: May 31, 2018. Second, more inconsistent site nomenclature: the page-bottom links across the site say "Privacy Policy" while the policy page title says "Privacy Statement." I selected the "Expand All" button to view the entire policy. Third, Whirlpool's Privacy Statement listed the items considered personal information:

This list is a good start. A simple link to this section from the Terms Of Use policy would do wonders to clarify things. However, Whirlpool collects some key data which it more freely collects and trades than "personal information." The Privacy Statement contains this clause:

"Whirlpool and its business partners and service providers may use a variety of technologies that automatically or passively collect information about how you interact with our Websites ("Usage Information"). Usage Information may include: (i) your IP address, which is a unique set of numbers assigned to your computer by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) (which, depending on your ISP, may be a different number every time you connect to the Internet); (ii) the type of browser and operating system you use; and (iii) other information about your online session, such as the URL you came from to get to our Websites and the date and time you visited our Websites."

And, the Privacy Statement mentions the use of several online tracking technologies:

"We use Local Shared Objects (LSOs) such as HTML5 or Flash on our Websites to store content information and preferences. Third parties with whom we partner to provide certain features on our Websites or to display advertising based upon your web browsing activity use LSOs such as HTML5 or Flash to collect and store information... Web beacons are tiny electronic image files that can be embedded within a web page or included in an e-mail message, and are usually invisible to the human eye. When we use web beacons within our web pages, the web beacons (also known as “clear GIFs” or “tracking pixels”) may tell us such things as: how many people are coming to our Websites, whether they are one-time or repeat visitors, which pages they viewed and for how long, how well certain online advertising campaigns are converting, and other similar Website usage data. When used in our e-mail communications, web beacons can tell us the time an e-mail was opened, if and how many times it was forwarded, and what links users click on from within the e- mail message."

While the "EU-US Privacy Shield" section of the privacy policy lists Whirlpool's European subsidiaries, and contains a Privacy Shield link to an external site listing the companies that are probably some of Whirlpool's service and advertising partners, the privacy policy really does not disclose all of the "third parties," "business partners," "service vendors," advertising partners, and affiliates Whirlpool shares data with. Consumers are left in the dark.

Last, the "Your Rights: Choice & Access" section of the privacy policy mentions the opt-out mechanism for consumers. While consumers can opt-out or cancel receiving marketing (e.g., promotional) messaging from Whirlpool, you can't opt-out of the data collection and archival. So, choice is limited.

Given this and the above concerns, I abandoned the product registration form. Yep. Didn't complete it. Maybe I will in the future after Whirlpool fixes things. Perhaps most importantly, today's blog post is a reminder for all consumers: always read companies' privacy and terms-of-use policies. Always. You never know what you'll find that is irksome. And, if you don't know how to read online polices, this blog has some tips and suggestions.

The New York State Public Service Commission (NYPSC) announced on Friday that it has revoked its approval of the 2016 merger agreement between Charter Communications, Inc. and Time Warner Cable, Inc. because:

"... Charter, doing business as Spectrum has — through word and deed — made clear that it has no intention of providing the public benefits upon which the Commission's earlier [merger] approval was conditioned. In addition, the Commission directed Commission counsel to bring an enforcement action in State Supreme Court to seek additional penalties for Charter's past failures and ongoing non-compliance..."

Charter, the largest cable provider in the State, provides digital cable television, broadband internet and VoIP telephone services to more than two million subscribers in in more than 1,150 communities. It provides services to consumers in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany and four boroughs in New York City: Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens and Brooklyn. The planned expansion could have increased to five million subscribers in the state.

A unit of the Department of Public Service, the NYPSC site described its mission, "to ensure affordable, safe, secure, and reliable access to electric, gas, steam, telecommunications, and water services for New York State’s residential and business consumers, while protecting the natural environment." Its announcement listed Spectrum's failures and non-compliance:

"1. The company’s repeated failures to meet deadlines;2. Charter’s attempts to skirt obligations to serve rural communities; 3. Unsafe practices in the field; 4. Its failure to fully commit to its obligations under the 2016 merger agreement; and 5. The company’s purposeful obfuscation of its performance and compliance obligations to the Commission and its customers."

The announcement provided details:

"On Jan. 8, 2016, the Commission approved Charter’s acquisition of Time Warner. To obtain approval, Charter agreed to a number of conditions required by the Commission to advance the public interest, including delivering broadband speed upgrades to 100 Mbps statewide by the end of 2018, and 300 Mbps by the end of 2019, and building out its network to pass an additional 145,000 un-served or under-served homes and businesses in the State's less densely populated areas within four years... Despite missing every network expansion target since the merger was approved in 2016, Charter has falsely claimed in advertisements it is exceeding its commitments to the State and is on track to deliver its network expansion. This led to the NYPSC’s general counsel referring a false advertising claim to the Attorney General’s office for enforcement... By its own admission, Charter has failed to meet its commitment to expand its service network... Its failure to meet its June 18, 2018 target by more than 40 percent is only the most recent example. Rather than accept responsibility Charter has tried to pass the blame for its failure on other companies, such as utility pole owners..."

The NYPSC has already levied $3 million in fines against Charter. The latest action basically boots Charter out of the State:

"Charter is ordered to file within 60 days a plan with the Commission to ensure an orderly transition to a successor provider(s). During the transition process, Charter must continue to comply with all local franchises it holds in New York State and all obligations under the Public Service Law and the NYPSC regulations. Charter must ensure no interruption in service is experienced by customers, and, in the event that Charter does not do so, the NYPSC will take further steps..."

"In the weeks leading up to an election, rhetoric often becomes politically charged. But the fact is that Spectrum has extended the reach of our advanced broadband network to more than 86,000 New York homes and businesses since our merger agreement with the PSC. Our 11,000 diverse and locally based workers, who serve millions of customers in the state every day, remain focused on delivering faster and better broadband to more New Yorkers, as we promised..."

On Wednesday, European anti-trust regulators fined Google 4.34 billion Euros (U.S. $5 billion) and ordered the tech company to stop using its Android operating system software to block competition. ComputerWorld reported:

"The European Commission found that Google has abused its dominant market position in three ways: tying access to the Play store to installation of Google Search and Google Chrome; paying phone makers and network operators to exclusively install Google Search, and preventing manufacturers from making devices running forks of Android... Google won't let smartphone manufacturers install Play on their phones unless they also make its search engine and Chrome browser the defaults on their phones. In addition, they must only use a Google-approved version of Android. This has prevented companies like Amazon.com, which developed a fork of Android it calls FireOS, from persuading big-name manufacturers to produce phones running its OS or connecting to its app store..."

"Soon after Brussels handed down its verdict, Google announced it would appeal. "Android has created more choice for everyone, not less," a Google spokesperson said... Google has 90 days to end its "illegal conduct" or its parent company Alphabet could be hit with fines amounting to 5% of its daily [revenues] for each day it fails to comply. Wednesday’s verdict ends a 39-month investigation by the European commission’s competition authorities into Google’s Android operating system but it is only one part of an eight-year battle between Brussels and the tech giant."

According to the Reuters news service, a third EU case against Google, involving accusations that the tech company's AdSense advertising service blocks users from displaying search ads from competitors, is still ongoing.

Recent advances in technology allow consumers to alter, customize, or build locally items previously not possible. These items are often referred to as Do-It-Yourself (DIY) products. You've probably heard DIY used in home repair and renovation projects on television. DIY now happens in some unexpected areas. Today's blog post highlights two areas.

DIY Glucose Monitors

"... It houses a Dexcom glucose monitor and a pack of glucose tablets, which work in conjunction with the sensor attached to her arm and the insulin pump plugged into her stomach. The final item in her bag was an iPhone 5S. It's unusual for such a young child to have a smartphone. But Ruby's iPhone, which connects via Bluetooth to her Dexcom monitor, allowing [her mother] to read it remotely, illustrates the way technology has transformed the management of diabetes from an entirely manual process -- pricking fingers to measure blood sugar, writing down numbers in a notebook, calculating insulin doses and injecting it -- to a semi-automatic one..."

Some people have access to these new technologies, but many don't. Others want more connectivity and better capabilities. So, some creative "hacking" has resulted:

"There are people who are unwilling to wait, and who embrace unorthodox methods. (You can find them on Twitter via the hashtag #WeAreNotWaiting.) The Nightscout Foundation, an online diabetes community, figured out a workaround for the Pebble Watch. Groups such as Nightscout, Tidepool and OpenAPS are developing open-source fixes for diabetes that give major medical tech companies a run for their money... One major gripe of many tech-enabled diabetes patients is that the two devices they wear at all times -- the monitor and the pump -- don't talk to each other... diabetes will never be a hands-off disease to manage, but an artificial pancreas is basically as close as it gets. The FDA approved the first artificial pancreas -- the Medtronic 670G -- in October 2017. But thanks to a little DIY spirit, people have had them for years."

CNet shared the experience of another tech-enabled patient:

"Take Dana Lewis, founder of the open-source artificial pancreas system, or OpenAPS. Lewis started hacking her glucose monitor to increase the volume of the alarm so that it would wake her in the night. From there, Lewis tinkered with her equipment until she created a closed-loop system, which she's refined over time in terms of both hardware and algorithms that enable faster distribution of insulin. It has massively reduced the "cognitive burden" on her everyday life... JDRF, one of the biggest global diabetes research charities, said in October that it was backing the open-source community by launching an initiative to encourage rival manufacturers like Dexcom and Medtronic to open their protocols and make their devices interoperable."

Convenience and affordability are huge drivers. As you might have guessed, there are risks:

"Hacking a glucose monitor is not without risk -- inaccurate readings, failed alarms or the wrong dose of insulin distributed by the pump could have fatal consequences... Lewis and the OpenAPS community encourage people to embrace the build-your-own-pancreas method rather than waiting for the tech to become available and affordable."

Are DIY glucose monitors a good thing? Some patients think so as a way to achieve convenient and affordable healthcare solutions. That might lead you to conclude anything DIY is an improvement. Right? Keep reading.

DIY Guns

Got a 3-D printer? If so, then you can print your own DIY gun. How did this happen? How did the USA get to here? Wired explained:

"Five years ago, 25-year-old radical libertarian Cody Wilson stood on a remote central Texas gun range and pulled the trigger on the world’s first fully 3-D-printed gun... he drove back to Austin and uploaded the blueprints for the pistol to his website, Defcad.com... In the days after that first test-firing, his gun was downloaded more than 100,000 times. Wilson made the decision to go all in on the project, dropping out of law school at the University of Texas, as if to confirm his belief that technology supersedes law..."

The law intervened. Wilson stopped, took down his site, and then pursued a legal remedy:

"Two months ago, the Department of Justice quietly offered Wilson a settlement to end a lawsuit he and a group of co-plaintiffs have pursued since 2015 against the United States government. Wilson and his team of lawyers focused their legal argument on a free speech claim: They pointed out that by forbidding Wilson from posting his 3-D-printable data, the State Department was not only violating his right to bear arms but his right to freely share information. By blurring the line between a gun and a digital file, Wilson had also successfully blurred the lines between the Second Amendment and the First."

So, now you... anybody with an internet connection and a 3-D printer (and a computer-controlled milling machine for some advanced parts)... can produce their own DIY gun. No registration required. No licenses nor permits. No training required. And, that's anyone anywhere in the world.

Oh, there's more:

"The Department of Justice's surprising settlement, confirmed in court documents earlier this month, essentially surrenders to that argument. It promises to change the export control rules surrounding any firearm below .50 caliber—with a few exceptions like fully automatic weapons and rare gun designs that use caseless ammunition—and move their regulation to the Commerce Department, which won't try to police technical data about the guns posted on the public internet. In the meantime, it gives Wilson a unique license to publish data about those weapons anywhere he chooses."

As you might have guessed, Wilson is re-launching his website, but this time with blueprints for more DIY weaponry besides pistols: AR-15 rifles and semi-automatic weaponry. So, it will be easier for people to skirt federal and state gun laws. Is that a good thing?

You probably have some thoughts and concerns. I do. There are plenty of issues and questions. Are DIY products a good thing? Who is liable? How should laws be upgraded? How can society facilitate one set of DIY products and not the other? What related issues do you see? Any other notable DIY products?

"... consumers who purchased on adidas.com/US... On June 26, Adidas became aware that an unauthorized party claims to have acquired limited data associated with certain Adidas consumers. Adidas is committed to the privacy and security of its consumers' personal data. Adidas immediately began taking steps to determine the scope of the issue and to alert relevant consumers. adidas is working with leading data security firms and law enforcement authorities to investigate the issue..."

The preliminary breach investigation found that contact information, usernames, and encrypted passwords were exposed or stolen. So far, no credit card or fitness information of consumers was "impacted." The company said it is continuing a forensic review and alerting affected customers.

While the company's breach announcement did not disclose the number of affected customer, CBS News reported that hackers may have stolen data about millions of customers. Fox Business reported that the Adidas:

"... hack was reported weeks after Under Armour’s health and fitness app suffered a security breach, which exposed the personal data of roughly 150 million users. The revealed information included the usernames, hashed passwords and email addresses of MyFitnessPal users."

It is critical to remember that this June 28th announcement was based upon a preliminary investigation. A completed breach investigation will hopefully determine and disclose any additional data elements exposed (or stolen), how the hackers penetrated the company's computer systems, which systems were penetrated, whether any internal databases were damaged/corrupted/altered, the total number of customers affected, specific fixes implemented so this type of breach doesn't happen again, and descriptive information about the cyber criminals.

This incident is also a reminder to consumers to never reuse the same password at several online sites. Cyber criminals are persistent, and will use the same password at several sites to see where else they can get in. It is no relief that encrypted passwords were stolen, because we don't yet know if the encryption tools were also stolen (making it easy for the hackers to de-encrypt the passwords). Not good.

We also don't yet know what "contact information" means. That could be first name, last name, phone, street address, e-mail address, mobile phone numbers, or some combination. If e-mail addresses were stolen, then breach victims could also experience phishing attacks where fraudsters try to trick victims into revealing bank account, sign-in credentials, and other sensitive information.

If you received a breach notice from Adidas, please share it below while removing any sensitive, identifying information.

My apologies to readers for the 10-day gap in blog posts. I took a few days off to attend a high school reunion in another state. Time passes more quickly than you think. It was good to renew connections with classmates.

Speaking of connections, several telecommunications companies appear to either ignore or not know the meaning of "unlimited" for mobile internet access. 9To5mac reported:

"Not content with offering one ‘unlimited’ plan which isn’t, and a second ‘beyond unlimited’ plan which also isn’t, Verizon has now decided the solution to this is a third plan. The latest addition is called ‘above unlimited’ and, you guessed it, it’s not... The carrier has the usual get-out clause, claiming that all three plans really are unlimited, it’s just that they reserve the right to throttle your connection speed once you hit the stated, ah, limits."

Some of the mobile plans limit video to low-resolution formats. Do you prefer to watch in 2018 low-resolution video formatted to 2008 (or earlier)? I think not. Do you want your connection slowed after you reach a data download threshold? I think not.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a Public Service Announcement (PSA) warning consumers and small businesses that "foreign cyber actors" have targeted their wireless routers. The May 25th PSA explained the threat:

"The actors used VPNFilter malware to target small office and home office routers. The malware is able to perform multiple functions, including possible information collection, device exploitation, and blocking network traffic... The malware targets routers produced by several manufacturers and network-attached storage devices by at least one manufacturer... VPNFilter is able to render small office and home office routers inoperable. The malware can potentially also collect information passing through the router. Detection and analysis of the malware’s network activity is complicated by its use of encryption and misattributable networks."

"... the versatile code is designed to serve as a multipurpose spy tool, and also creates a network of hijacked routers that serve as unwitting VPNs, potentially hiding the attackers' origin as they carry out other malicious activities."

The FBI's PSA advised users to, a) reboot (e.g., turn off and then back on) their routers; b) disable remote management features which attackers could take over to gain access; and c) update their routers with the latest software and security patches. For routers purchased independently, security experts advise consumers to contact the router manufacturer's tech support or customer service site.

For routers leased or purchased from an internet service providers (ISP), consumers should contact their ISP's customer service or technical department for software updates and security patches. Example: the Verizon FiOS forums site section lists the brands and models affected by the VPNfilter malware, since several manufacturers produce routers for the Verizon FiOS service.

"An analysis by Talos, the threat intelligence division for the tech giant Cisco, estimated that at least 500,000 routers in at least 54 countries had been infected by the [VPNfilter] malware... A global network of hundreds of thousands of routers is already under the control of the Sofacy Group, the Justice Department said last week. That group, which is also known as A.P.T. 28 and Fancy Bear and believed to be directed by Russia’s military intelligence agency... To disrupt the Sofacy network, the Justice Department sought and received permission to seize the web domain toknowall.com, which it said was a critical part of the malware’s “command-and-control infrastructure.” Now that the domain is under F.B.I. control, any attempts by the malware to reinfect a compromised router will be bounced to an F.B.I. server that can record the I.P. address of the affected device..."

The conveniences of wireless internet connectivity which consumers demand and enjoy, also benefits the bad guys,

The bad guys are persistent and will continue to target internet-connected devices with weak or no protection, including devices consumers fail to protect,

Wireless benefits come with a responsibility for consumers to shop wisely for internet-connected devices featuring easy, continual software updates and security patches. Otherwise, that shiny new device you recently purchased is nothing more than an expensive "brick," and

Manufacturers have a responsibility to provide consumers with easy, continual software updates and security patches for the internet-connected devices they sell.

What are your opinions of the VPNfilter malware? What has been your experience with securing your wireless home router?

"Panera Bread’s website leaked millions of customer records in plain text for at least eight months, which is how long the company blew off the issues reported by security researcher Dylan Houlihan... Houlihan shared copies of email exchanges with Panera Bread CIO John Meister – who at first accused Houlihan of trying to run a scam when he first reported the security vulnerability back in August 2017... Exactly eight months after reporting the issue to Panera Bread, Houlihan turned to KrebsOnSecurity. Krebs spoke to Meister, and the website was briefly taken offline. Less than two hours later, Panera said it had fixed the problem."

Security experts disagree about two key issues: a) whether or not the vulnerability was fixed, and b) the number of affected consumers. Panera Bread claimed about 10,000 customers were affected. Then, that number went up:

"After some more poking, Hold Security reported to Krebs that Panera didn’t just leak plain text records of 7 million customers; “the vulnerabilities also appear to have extended to Panera’s commercial division, which serves countless catering companies. At last count, the number of customer records exposed in this breach appears to exceed 37 million.”

A check earlier today of the public-facing pages at Panera's website failed to find a breach notice, which companies usually provide after a data breach. Not good. Shoppers need to know. Many states have breach notification laws.

Panera's behavior doesn't inspire much confidence. It's internal breach-detection mechanisms seem to have failed, and its post-breach response seemed unprepared, unfocused, and disinterested. What do you think?

Clearly, there is a problem. According to BuzzFeed, Amazon is aware of the problem and replied to its inquiry with this statement:

"In rare circumstances, Alexa can mistakenly hear the phrase 'Alexa, laugh.' We are changing that phrase to be 'Alexa, can you laugh?' which is less likely to have false positives, and we are disabling the short utterance 'Alexa, laugh.' We are also changing Alexa’s response from simply laughter to 'Sure, I can laugh,' followed by laughter..."

Hopefully, that will fix the #AlexaLaugh bug. No doubt, there will be more news to come about this.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has learned more about the relationship between Geek Squad, a computer repair service, and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In a March 6th announcement, the EFF said it filed a:

"... FOIA lawsuit last year to learn more about how the FBI uses Geek Squad employees to flag illegal material when people pay Best Buy to repair their computers. The relationship potentially circumvents computer owners’ Fourth Amendment rights."

Founded in 1966, the Best Buy retail chain operates more than 1,500 stores in North America and employs more than 125,000 people. The chain sells home appliances and electronics both online and at stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Located in about 1,100 Best Buy stores, Geek Squad provides repair services via phone, in-store, or at home. This means that Geek Squad employees configure and fix popular smart devices many consumers have purchased for their homes: cameras and camcorders, cell phones, computers and tablets, home theater, car electronics, home security (e.g., smart doorbells, smart locks, smart thermostats, wireless cameras), smart appliances (e.g., refrigerators, ovens, washing machines, dryers, etc.), smart speakers, video game consoles, wearables (e.g., fitness bands, smart watches), and more.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

It is most puzzling how a broken computer translates into probable cause for a search. The FOIA request was prompted by the prosecution of a doctor in California, "who was charged with possession of child pornography after Best Buy sent his computer to the Kentucky Geek Squad repair facility."

The FOIA request yielded documents which showed:

"... that Best Buy officials have enjoyed a particularly close relationship with the agency for at least 10 years. For example, an FBI memo from September 2008 details how Best Buy hosted a meeting of the agency’s “Cyber Working Group” at the company’s Kentucky repair facility... Another document records a $500 payment from the FBI to a confidential Geek Squad informant... over the years of working with Geek Squad employees, FBI agents developed a process for investigating and prosecuting people who sent their devices to the Geek Squad for repairs..."

The EFF announcement described that process in detail:

"... a series of FBI investigations in which a Geek Squad employee would call the FBI’s Louisville field office after finding what they believed was child pornography. The FBI agent would show up, review the images or video and determine whether they believe they are illegal content. After that, they would seize the hard drive or computer and send it to another FBI field office near where the owner of the device lived. Agents at that local FBI office would then investigate further, and in some cases try to obtain a warrant to search the device... For example, documents reflect that Geek Squad employees only alert the FBI when they happen to find illegal materials during a manual search of images on a device and that the FBI does not direct those employees to actively find illegal content. But some evidence in the case appears to show Geek Squad employees did make an affirmative effort to identify illegal material... Other evidence showed that Geek Squad employees were financially rewarded for finding child pornography..."

Finding child pornography and prosecuting perpetrators is a worthy goal, but the FBI-Geek Squad program seems to blur the line between computer repair and law enforcement. The program and FOIA documents raise several questions:

What are the program details (e.g., training, qualifications for informants, payments, conditions for payments, scope, etc.) for financial rewarding Geek Squad employees for finding child pornography?

What other computer/appliance repair vendors does the FBI operate similar programs with?

What quality control measures does the program contain to prevent wrongful prosecutions?

What penalties or consequences, if any, for Geek Squad employees who falsely reported child pornography claims?

Is this Geek Squad program nationwide, or if not, in which states does it operate?

In cases of suspected child pornography, what other information on targets' devices is collected and archived by the FBI through this program?

Were/are whole hard drives copied and archived?

How long is information archived?

Does the program between the FBI and Geek Squad target other types of crime and threats (e.g., terrorism)?

What other law enforcement or security agencies does Geek Squad have cozy relationships with?

I'm sure there are more questions to be asked. What are your opinions?

Last fall, a couple living in a Boston suburb started receiving packages they didn't order from Amazon, the popular online retailer. The Boston Globe reported that the couple living in Acton, Massachusetts:

"... contacted Amazon, only to be told that the merchandise was paid for with a gift card. No sender’s name, no address. While they’ve never been charged for anything, they fear they are being used in a scam... The first package from Amazon landed on Mike and Kelly Gallivan’s front porch in October. And they have continued to arrive, packed with plastic fans, phone chargers, and other cheap stuff, at a rate of one or two a week."

The packages were delivered to the intended recipient. Nobody knows who sent the items: wireless chargers, a high-intensity flashlight, a Bluetooth speaker, a computer vacuum cleaner, LED tent lamps, USB cables, and more. After receiving 25 packages since October, the couple now wants it to stop. What seemed funny at first, is now a nuisance.

The Gallivans are not alone. CBC News reported that students at several universities in Canada have also received mystery packages containing a variety of items they didn't order:

"The items come in Amazon packaging, but there's no indication who's ordering the goods from the online retail giant. "We're definitely confused by it," said Shawn Wiskar, University of Regina Students' Union vice-president of student affairs. His student union has received about 15 anonymous packages from Amazon since late November, many of which contained multiple items. Products sent so far include iPad cases, a kitchen scale and a "fleshlight" — a male sex toy in the shape of a flashlight... Six other university student unions — Dalhousie in Halifax; St. Francis Xavier in Antigonish (Nova Scotia); Ryerson in Toronto; Wilfrid Laurier in Waterloo, Ontario; Royal Roads in Victoria; and the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg — have also confirmed that they've been receiving mysterious Amazon packages since the fall."

Experts speculate that the mystery packages were sent by fraudsters trying to game the retailer's review system. Consumers buy products on Amazon.com either directly from the retailer or from independent sellers listed on the site. The Boston Globe explained:

"Here’s how two experts who used to work for Amazon, James Thomson and Chris McCabe, say it probably works: A seller trying to prop up a product would set up a phony e-mail account that would be used to establish an Amazon account. Then the seller would purchase merchandise with a gift card — no identifying information there — and send it to a random person, in this case the Gallivans. Then, the phantom seller, who controls the “buyer’s” e-mail account, writes glowing reviews of the product, thus boosting the Amazon ranking of the product."

If true, then there probably are a significant number of bogus reviews on the Amazon site. The Boston Globe's news item also suggested that a data breach within a seller's firm might have provided scammers with valid mailing addresses:

"How did Mike, to whom the packages are addressed, get drawn into this? On occasion he’s ordered stuff on Amazon and received it directly from a manufacturer, once from China. That manufacturer or some affiliate may have scooped Mike’s name and address."

"... All she knows is that the sender is some guy named Kevin who uses Amazon gift cards... And she’s reported the packages to the NYPD, the FBI and the Better Business Bureau since Amazon hasn’t made the deliveries stop."

In that news report, a security expert speculated that criminals were testing stolen debit- and gift-card numbers. Did a seller have a data breach which went unreported? Lots of questions and few answers.

Security experts advise consumers to report packages they didn't order to various law enforcement and agencies, as the Queens resident did. Ultimately, her deliveries stopped, but not for the Gallivans.

Amazon has been unable to identify the perpetrators. At press time, a search of Amazon's Help and Customer Service site section failed to find content helping consumers victimized by this scam.

Perhaps, it is time for law enforcement and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to step in. Regardless, we consumers will probably hear more news in the future about this scam.

If you haven't seen it, there is a Whopper Neutrality ad online by Burger King, explains net neutrality in a very easy-to-understand way. Blog post continues after the video:

A November, 2017 poll found that 52 percent of registered voters supported the current rules, including 55 percent of Democrats and 53 percent of Republicans. After that poll, the Commissioners at the FCC voted to killed net neutrality protections for consumers.

Some have questions whether the ad is sincere support of an issue consumers care about, or slick corporate advertising which capitalize on a hot topic. I like the ad. Anything that helps more consumers understand the issue, and what we've lost, is a good thing.

Another view of the ad by The Young Turks. Share your opinions below after the video:

The United States has a problem: the number of international visitors is declining. What are companies doing to counter this, lost revenues, and other negative impacts? Bloomberg reported (bold emphasis added):

"... 10 business associations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Restaurant Association, have created a travel industry group aimed at reversing the growing unpopularity of the U.S. as a vacation destination. So [last week], some of its biggest players unveiled the "Visit U.S. Coalition" to spur the Trump administration into enacting friendlier visa and border-security policies at a time when federal agencies are doing the opposite... Since 2015, the U.S. and Turkey have been the only places among the top dozen global travel destinations to experience a decline in inbound visitors, a time when other nations such as Australia, Canada, China and the United Kingdom have marked sizable gains..."

Foreign visitors spend their travel money here, which helps businesses in the USA. The amount of the travel decline is measurable:

"... the Commerce Department reported a 3.3 percent drop in traveler spending for last year, through November, the equivalent of $4.6 billion in losses and 40,000 jobs. The U.S. share of international long-haul travel fell to 11.9 percent last year, from 13.6 percent in 2015, according to the U.S. Travel Association, a slippage the group said equates to 7.4 million visitors and $32.2 billion in spending."

According to its website, the Visit U.S. Coalition includes the following founding members: American Gaming Association, American Hotel & Lodging Association, American Society of Association Executives, Asian American Hotel Owners Association, International Association of Exhibitions and Events, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, Society of Independent Show Organizers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Travel Association.

What does this mean? What might the consequences be?

First, if the foreign tourism decline continues, experience tells us that after prolonged revenue losses, affected industries (e.g., hotels, transportation, restaurants, retail shopping, etc.) and companies will layoff or terminate workers. Not good for workers. Not good for the United States economy.

Second, it's great that several companies have organized together into groups... trade associations for several industries; and then several trade associations organized into a coalition... what you might call an uber-trade association... to highlight their concerns, remain competitive, and advocate for their interests. You'd expect any administration which promised to be pro-business would listen these concerns.

Third, the freedom to organize is an important part of a democracy, and a competitive marketplace. Workers want this freedom, too. Sadly, too many corporate executives and politicians deny workers the same freedoms they want their businesses to enjoy. You've probably heard the claim: "corporations are people, my friend." I guess they are a special class of people with more freedom than flesh-and-blood persons.

"... Royal Caribbean has teamed up with CPP-The Myers-Briggs Company to launch a quiz that offers cruise recommendations based on your personality type. The assessment tool, found on MyAdventurePersonality.com, asks users 13 questions as they pertain to personal behavior and preferences... Once the results are calculated, users will be designated a travel personality type, such as Expert Adventure Planner, Laidback Wanderer and Spontaneous Sightseer. They also will receive an itinerary recommendation best suited for their type, with planning tips."

"The purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung understandable and useful in people's lives. The essence of the theory is that much seemingly random variation in the behavior is actually quite orderly and consistent, being due to basic differences in the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment... In developing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator [instrument], the aim of Isabel Briggs Myers, and her mother, Katharine Briggs, was to make the insights of type theory accessible to individuals and groups... The identification of basic preferences of each of the four dichotomies specified or implicit in Jung's theory. The identification and description of the 16 distinctive personality types that result from the interactions among the preferences."

"Chances are you’ve taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), or will. Roughly 2 million people a year do. It has become the gold standard of psychological assessments, used in businesses, government agencies and educational institutions... More than 10,000 companies, 2,500 colleges and universities and 200 government agencies in the United States use the test... It’s estimated that 50 million people have taken the Myers-Briggs personality test since the Educational Testing Service first added the research to its portfolio in 1962... Organizations administer the MBTI assessment to employees in one of two ways. They either pay for someone in their human-resources department to become certified, then pay the materials costs each time employees take the test. Or, they contract with certified, independent training consultants or leadership coaches."

The travel quiz uses different and fewer (13 versus ~ 88) forced-choice questions than the MBTI. Plus, the travel quiz categorizes consumers into four travel personality types (versus 16 types by the MBTI). And, the MBTI tool is administered by certified professionals in an ethical manner. So, consumers shouldn't assume that the travel quiz is as rigorous as the MBTI. Admittedly, MyAdventurePersonality may add more questions and/or types in the future.

If you are considering the travel quiz, wise consumers always read the fine print, first. The MyAdventurePersonality site uses the same legal and privacy policies as the core Royal Caribbean cruise line site. So, consumers should know that whatever they submit to the travel quiz will probably be freely shared with other entities, since the Royal Caribbean Privacy Policy does not state any limitations.

The MyAdventurePersonality site may be a marketing gimmick to attract new customers and/or better target e-mail marketing campaigns to current and prospective cruise travelers.

Me? After 28 cruise ship vacations (with many on Royal Caribbean ships) to many areas of the planet, I know my travel needs and preferences very well. So, I doubt the quiz will tell me something I don't already know.

Otto, a smart lock maker, has suspended operations. Sam Jadallah, the firm's CEO, announced the suspension just before the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). TechCrunch reported:

"The company made the decision just ahead of the holidays, a fact that founder and CEO Sam Jadallah recently made public with a lengthy Medium post now pinned to the top of the startup’s site... Jadallah told TechCrunch that the company’s lock made it as far as the manufacturing process, and is currently sitting in a warehouse, unable to be sold by a hardware startup that is effectively no longer operating... The long and short of it is that the company was about to be acquired by someone with a lot more resources and experience in bringing a product to market, only to have the rug apparently pulled out at the last minute..."

"You’re at work and want to check Facebook on your lunch break to see how your sister is doing. This is not exactly a straightforward task, as your company uses Verizon. You’re not about to ask your boss if they’d consider putting up the extra cash every month so that you can access social media in the office, so you’ll have to wait until you get home.

That evening, you log in to pay your monthly internet bill — or rather, bills.

See, there’s the baseline internet cost, but without net neutrality, you also have to pay a separate monthly fee for social media, another for "leisure" pages like Reddit and Imgur, and another still for liberal-leaning news sites — because your provider’s CEO is politically conservative. Not only is your bill confusing, you’re not sure you can really afford to access all these websites that, at one point in time, you took for granted.

In addition to the sites you can access if you pay for them, there are also websites that have just become lost to you. Websites that you once frequented, but that now, you aren’t even sure how to access anymore. You can’t even pay to access them. You used to like reading strange Wikipedia articles late at night and cruising for odd documentaries — but now, all those interests that once entertained and educated you in your precious and minimal free time are either behind yet another separately provided paywall or blocked entirely. You’ve started to ask around, see if your friends or coworkers with other providers have better access... but the story is pretty much always the same."

In short, without net neutrality:

You will lose the freedom to use the internet bandwidth you've purchased monthly as you desire;

Corporate internet service providers (ISPs) increase their their revenues and profits by adding tolls to each package in a sliced-and-diced approach to internet content;

Your internet bill will become just as confusing, frustrating, and expensive as your cable-TV bill, where ISPs force you to buy several expensive packages of sites in order to access your favorite sites;

The new, expensive tolls allow ISPs to decide what internet content you see and don't see. Sites or content producers unwilling to pay fees to ISPs will find their content blocked or relegated to "slow" speed lanes; and

Both middle-class and poor online users will bear the brunt of the price increases.

If you think this can't happen in the United States, consider:

"Some countries are already living this reality. In New Zealand, Vodafone offers mobile internet packages that are comprised of different types of services. You might have to pay a certain amount to access social apps like Snapchat and Instagram, and a separate fee to chat with friends via Facebook Messenger and iMessage. A similar framework is used by Portugal’s MEO, where messaging, social media, music streaming, video streaming, and email are also split into separate packages.

"Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview that an open and free internet is vital for America in the 21st century. During a speech at the Newseum on Wednesday, Pai said he plans to roll back the net-neutrality regulations and to restore the light-touch regulatory system established by President Bill Clinton and Congressional Republicans by the 1996 Telecommunications Act... Chairman Pai said during his speech that the internet prospered before net neutrality was enacted... Breitbart News asked the FCC chief why he thinks that net neutrality is a problem, and why we must eliminate the rule. He said: "Number one there was no problem to solve, the internet wasn’t broken in 2015. In that situation, it doesn’t seem me that preemptive market-wide regulation is necessary. Number two, even if there was a problem, this wasn’t the right solution to adopt. These Title II regulations were inspired during the Great Depression to regulate Ma Bell which was a telephone monopoly. And the broadband market we have is very different from the telephone market of 1934. So, it seems to me that if you have 4,462 internet service providers and if a few of them are behaving in a way that is anti-competitive or otherwise bad for consumer welfare then you take targeted action to deal with that. You don’t declare the entire market anti-competitive and treat everyone as if they are a monopolist. Going forward we are going to propose eliminating that Title II classification and figure out the right way forward. The bottom line is, everyone agrees on the principles of a free and open internet what we disagree with is how many regulations are needed to preserve the internet." "

Note the language. Pai uses "free and open internet" to refer to freedoms for ISPs to do what they want; a slick attempt to co-opt language net neutrality proponentsused for freedoms for consumers go online where they want without additional fees. Pai's "Light touch" means fewer regulations for ISPS regardless of the negative consequences upon consumers. Pai's comments in April attempted to spin existing net neutrality laws as antiquated ("the telephone market of 1934"), when, in fact, net neutrality was established recently... in 2010. Even the same Breitbart News article admitted this:

"More than 1,000 startups and investors have now signed an open letter to Pai opposing the proposal. The Internet Association, a trade group representing bigger companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, has also condemned the plan. "The current FCC rules are working for consumers and the protections need to be kept in tact," Michael Beckerman, president and CEO of the Internet Association, said at a press conference Wednesday."

Regular readers of this blog are aware that more than "a few" ISPs committed abused consumers and content producers. (A prior blog post listed many historical problems and abuses of consumers by some ISPs.) Also, consider this: Pai made his net-neutrality position clear long before the public submitted comments to the FCC this past summer. Sounds like he never really intended to listen to comments from the public. Not very open minded.

In short, the FCC's online comments system is corrupted, hacked, and unreliable. The group (e.g., FCC commissioner, 28 Senators, and NY State AG) also objects to the elimination of net neutrality on the merits.

The fraud evidence is pretty damning, but Chairman Pai seems intent upon going ahead with a vote to kill net neutrality despite the comments fraud. Why? How? Ars Technica reported on December 4th:

"FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says that net neutrality rules aren't needed because the Federal Trade Commission can protect consumers from broadband providers... When contacted by Ars, Pai's office issued this statement in response to the [delay request] letter: "This is just evidence that supporters of heavy-handed Internet regulations are becoming more desperate by the day as their effort to defeat Chairman Pai's plan to restore Internet freedom has stalled. The vote will proceed as scheduled on December 14."

I find the whole process deeply disturbing. First, only 28 U.S. Senators seem concerned about the massive comments fraud. Why aren't all 100 concerned? Second, why aren't any House members concerned? Third, President Trump hasn't said anything about it. (This makes one wonder if POTUS45 either doesn't care consumers are hurt, or is asleep at the wheel.) Elected officials in positions of responsibility seem willing to ignore valid concerns.

You may remember, earlier this year Apple launched its iPhone X with Face ID feature for users to unlock their phones:

"Your face is now your password. Face ID is a secure and private new way to unlock, authenticate, and pay... Face ID is enabled by the TrueDepth camera and is simple to set up. It projects and analyzes more than 30,000 invisible dots to create a precise depth map of your face."

"The same Vietnamese team that managed to trick Face ID with an elaborately constructed mask now says it has found a way to create a replicated face capable of unlocking Apple's latest and greatest biometric using a series of surreptitiously snagged photographs. Apple has copped to the fact that Face ID, for all its technical prowess, isn't perfect. It can be tricked by twins. For

"Bkav used a 3D mask (which costs ~200 USD), made of stone powder, with glued 2D images of the eyes. Bkav experts found out that stone powder can replace paper tape (used in previous mask) to trick Face ID' AI at higher scores. The eyes are printed infrared images – the same technology that Face ID itself uses to detect facial image. These materials and tools are casual for anyone. An iPhone X has its highest security options enabled, then has the owner's face enrolled to set up Face ID, then is immediately put in front of the mask, iPhone X is unlocked immediately. There is absolutely no learning of Face ID with the new mask in this experiment."

The same blog post also explained how a three-dimensional model can defeat Face ID:

"Bkav researchers said that making 3D model is very simple. A person can be secretly taken photos in just a few seconds when entering a room containing a pre-setup system of cameras located at different angles. Then, the photos will be processed by algorithms to make a 3D object.

It can be said that, until now, Fingerprint is still the most secure biometric technology. Collecting a fingerprint is much harder than taking photos from a distance. Meanwhile, just by taking photos from a distance to create 3D objects as mentioned above, both Apple's Face ID and Samsung's Iris Scanner can be bypassed easily."

"Approximately half of adult Americans’ photographs are stored in facial recognition databases that can be accessed by the FBI, without their knowledge or consent, in the hunt for suspected criminals. About 80% of photos in the FBI’s network are non-criminal entries, including pictures from driver’s licenses and passports. The algorithms used to identify matches are inaccurate about 15% of the time, and are more likely to misidentify black people than white people."

"Germany's Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), the country's telecommunications agency, has banned the sale of children's smartwatches after it classified such devices as "prohibited listening devices." The ban was announced earlier today... parents are using their children's smartwatches to listen to teachers in the classroom. Recording or listening to private conversations is against the law in Germany without the permission of all recorded persons."

Some smartwatches are designed for children as young as four years of age. Several brands are available at online retailers, such as Amazon and Best Buy.

"Saying the technology more closely resembles a “spying device” than a toy... Last month, the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) warned that smartwatches marketed to kids were a serious threat to children’s privacy. A report published by the Norwegian Consumer Council in mid-October revealed serious flaws in several of the devices that could easily allow hackers to seize control. "

Clearly, this is another opportunity for parents to carefully research and consider smart device purchases for their family, to teach their children about privacy, and to not record persons without their permission.